We also need to voice out our concerns to government leaders and decision-makers to finally create a long-lasting (if permanent is not realistically possible), solution.

These calamities could not be predicted nor prevented, but the damage to lives and properties can be greatly diminished if there was proper planning and development of our communities.

Though it is true that informal settlers and improper waste disposal contributes to the flood problem, the increased number of malls, subdivisions, condos, and other enormous establishments built on reclaimed lands, mountain tops and riversides, have obstructed or diverted the natural flow of water paths. Thus also greatly contributing to the cause of flooding.

One example is the reclaimed lands along Manila Bay. The Cultural Center of the Philippines (including Sofitel Manila and Harbour Square which are in the same complex), SM Mall of Asia (one of the largest mall in the world), and many of the luxury residential condominium buildings in Pasay City with fantastic views of Manila Bay and its gorgeous sunsets, all stand on land reclaimed from the sea. But it looks as if the sea is still trying to get some of it back.

The Ondoy flash floods that struck most of Metro Manila had muddy waters coming from the mountains of Rizal because there were not enough trees to hold the rainfalls. This was brought about by the numerous subdivisions built in the once forested lands.

Notice also that many of our rivers and esteros are either dead or stagnant indicating that they are being blocked from freely flowing. It was not like this before all of these so called developments took place. The “Hagupit Ng Habagat” would not have caused heavy flooding if flood waters could easily flow out of the city and eventually subside gracefully towards the outer seas.

I am not against progress, but all I see and hear from our leaders is to put the blame on the lower class while seemingly ignoring to scrutinize the huge corporations that have obviously devastated our natural way of living in much greater proportions.

“Equally, we have all witnessed some of the wealthiest corporations and most powerful people in the world shave off forests, leave indigenous tribes homeless and culture-less, dump tonnes of toxic waste into formerly pristine rivers with impunity, rob third world countries of their right to sustainable and self-reliant agriculture; spill oil into the oceans, overfish those oceans, turn seas into lakes and lakes into deserts; drive species to extinction, perpetuate our dependence on fossil fuels that’s causing global warming, spew fumes into the atmosphere, produce and consume essentially worthless goods that turn into trash (trash in, trash out), waste energy and conserve waste, carve out open pit mines like open sores on the crust of the Earth, and essentially destroy our planet, our economy, and ourselves.